Chapter Text
Time changes people. Bede knew this as a fact as he reminicised his first year as a gym leader, cleaning his apartment. Oh if only he could tell his past self how his life turned around. From distraught, sponsorship revoked child, desperate to get back on that man’s good side, to Ballonea’s gym leader, content with everything.
Well, almost content.
The first day being challenged was mentally harrowing for Bede. He trained new pokemon to be at gym challenge level, so going into battle without the powerful pokemon he was used to was kind of scary. It didn’t help matters that he lost. He lost a few times. In between matches, while his pokemon were recovering and Bede was just in the locker room, he hid in a corner and phoned Milo.
“Milo I keep losing! I’ve only won one match today, am I fucking things up?”
Milo had chuckled on the other end.
“Oh Bede, that’s normal! Most gym challengers normally give up during a gym’s challenge, so if they get to you, it normally means they can win against you. Your purpose as a gym leader is to filter out the weaker trainers from those that are stronger. And hey, every trainer you meet is a trainer that has beaten me, Nessa, Kabu, and Bea, so losing to them isn’t a sign of anything bad. Trust me, I’d know.”
“Right…” Bede had kinda forgot that Milo got the most thrashing, since he was the first gym leader.
“Oh, and while I got you on call, would you like to come over for dinner on saturday? You should be done with gym challengers by then. I still owe you for fixing up some of my shirts for me.”
Bede looked at his growing collection of thread, all kept nicely in a plastic box. He wiped the top of the box with a damp cloth, trying to get rid of all the dust that collected on top despite its regular use.
The boy thought about his career path. It was certainly unique, Bede giving up on acting to pursue his blossoming passion for tailoring. Of course, why he got into tailoring in the first place wasn’t exactly orthodox.
Bede was probably the last person to admit it, but he was grateful for Opal taking him in when she did. He looked up to her as his mentor, and took her guidance to heart, picking up how to be a fairy trainer in both what was said and what wasn’t. One thing that stuck out about fairy type training, that Bede almost couldn’t believe, was the need for aesthetic. It sounded fucking stupid, trying to live your life like you were part of a fairy tale, but it was… almost an inevitable thing? At least, that's what Bede said as he got suckered into believing it.
The problem was, Bede realised he was stagnating, and his pokemon, for some bullshitting reason, suffered because of it. He was treading the same ground Opal did, but without the same magic she had. Well duh, she was The Wizard. But then, Bede had to think. Who was he? He couldn’t always be The Wizard’s Apprentice, and from the way Opal acted in certain situations, she wanted him to break out of the role and find his own.
Which is why Bede had turned to research in the old library, looking over old books of fairy tales, reading and looking at the illustrations for inspiration. His eyes tend to stick around when it came to illustrations showing a prince charming, a dashing hero with a beautiful horse and the ability to win against all odds. Bede was pretty much that when he thought about it. He was at the very least, the hero for his friend Milo, he had a fucking horse he loved dearly and even though he dare not speak it, his past was a nightmare he had survived against.
So one day, Bede tried to be prince charming, dressing himself based on one of the illustrations. He may as well have been competing for world’s saddest halloween costume.
That's when he turned to needle and thread, even if Bede was afraid of pricking himself through his gloves with the metal needle he found in a repair kit. There was a godawful shirt with embroidered flowers on it. He tried to alter it, but annoyance made him take out scissors and just sliced until it remained as a capelet somewhat. It wasn’t that great, but he was proud of his work, proud enough to wear it over his gym shirt as he did his daily errands. Tansy liked it, the convenience store clerk complementing it when Bede purchased his usual food items, and Bede fueled himself with her words to continue.
Bede started to actually learn how to sew because of it, at first just fixing some broken clothing, learning how to do different stitches and learning how to not die in agonising pain from pricking yourself. He patched costumes for the theater, and it snowballed to where he practically spent rehearsals just making costumes for the actors instead, Opal giving him advice on what fabrics to use and what not.
It was then he ended up referring himself as being a tailor. He wasn’t at the point where he would dare make anything for anyone that wasn’t intended for theater, but fixing and altering clothing? He’d do it, and he started to get the proper equipment to do it with too.
That’s when the league’s marketing division approached Bede. It was simple, they would arrange for photoshoots and interviews, showing off Bede’s new princely demeanor and newfound tailoring skills, and Galar would know him as “The princely tailor.”
Bede was rather fond with how his rare card came out. His standard was very boring, like other gym leaders, he just stood in his stadium with the lights on, making a strange shimmering pattern behind him, but his rare card had him on the back of his rapidash, in front of a backdrop of Ballonea’s glowing mushrooms.
Of course, Bede’s fanbase, from that one time he snuck into the Champion Cup’s finals, loved what he had done with himself.
Bede runs the damp cloth over his small bookshelf, and he finds that magazine. The Galar You, a popular tabloid, put Bede on the front cover on one of their issues.
“‘Galar’s Newest Heartthrob’?” Bede had said as he picked up the magazine from the magazine rack in the convenience store. His beautiful eyes focused on the letters, his demeanor calm and his beautiful face serene as he reacted to the headline. Perhaps he truly was Prince Charming.
“Who the fuck thinks I’m a fucking heartthrob? Is this some kinda fucking piss taking joke? Fucking hell what’s wrong with people?”
...If Prince Charming had a mouth that would put sailors to shame and would get into fist fights far too regularly.
Once Bede was done cleaning, he went back to that awful magazine in his bookshelf, and phoned Milo.
Milo chuckled when Bede explained why he was calling.
“ Oh deary me, you’re still hung up about it? C’mon, there’s nothing to be upset about, it just means some people like you .”
“Yeah, but… heartthrob? It still sounds like they just decided to take the piss.”
“ Oh don’t be so negative. It’s just a harmless magazine. People like you. You’re nice looking, you’re friendly-”
“Oh we both know that’s a fucking lie,”
“ -You’re nice looking… Okay now I can’t really come up with ways to describe you. ”
“Wow thanks Milo, true friend material here.”
“ Hey give me a break, you’re an acquired taste. ”
“You’re calling me fucking asparagus?”
“ In a way… look, you’ve got a certain charm to you, alright? ” He snorts, “ You’re probably the first person to complain about being called attractive in a magazine. By the way, did you get Raihan’s invite?”
“For ‘heart emoji pokeball emoji fist emoji frowny face emoji Gym Leader Squad Dinner check emoji check emoji ok hand emoji heart emoji’?”
“ Gnfff yup .”
“I’m not sure if I’m considered a ladythot or a gentlefuckboy, but I got it.”
“ Great. Do you need any help with your allergies?”
“Oh don’t worry I’ve got it under control.”